2025 Virtual Track
Keynote Speaker
Virtual Keynote: Javier Zamora
Memoirist and poet
Memoirist and poet Javier Zamora shares the unforgettable story of his harrowing migration from El Salvador to the United States at only nine years old. Accompanied only by strangers and a hired “coyote,” he left his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with his mother and father in the United States. Narrated by his nine-year-old self, Zamora’s memoir, Solito, provides an intimate account of his near-impossible journey and the unexpected moments of kindness, love, and joy scattered across perilous boat trips, desert treks, arrests, and betrayals.
Going beyond his harrowing border crossing, Zamora explores the ways he has been processing and healing from trauma ever since, from therapy to poetry to nature hikes. As a native Salvadoran who grew up as an undocumented American, he delves into the intersecting and conflicting meanings of home and identity.
In 2015, he cofounded the Undocupoets, a “group fighting to end citizenship-based discrimination in poetry publishing and contests,” and drafted a petition urging literary organizations to remove citizenship or residency as a requirement for applications. Javier Zamora has been a Stegner fellow at Stanford University and a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard, and holds fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. His debut poetry collection, Unaccompanied, is rooted in the indelible experiences of a nine-year-old boy navigating politics, racism, war, and the impact of a border crossing on his family.
Zamora holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and has earned an MFA from New York University. The recipient of the 2017 Narrative Prize, the 2016 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, and the 2020 Pushcart Prize, Zamora has been published in Granta, the Kenyon Review, American Poetry, the New Republic, the New York Times, and Poetry, among other publications.
Learn more about our virtual speaker by visiting Javier Zamora's website.
Photo credit: Gerardo Del Valle
Virtual Agenda at a Glance
Note: You will select one session from each time slot to attend on the day of the event.
All session times are listed in Central Time.
- 8:30 - 9:45 a.m.Welcome and Virtual Keynote
- 9:45 - 10:30 a.m.Break
- 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.AI-Powered Literacy: Innovating Reading and Writing InstructionWant to use AI to boost literacy for multilingual students? Join us to explore easy-to-use AI tools for writing, vocabulary, and storytelling. Learn how to blend these tools into your lessons and support diverse learners. Leave with practical ideas to enhance language development and academic success in your classroom. Get ready for hands-on activities and fresh approaches to teaching! Presenter: Caio Gomes
- 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.Walking Into Success: Using Language Learning Walks to Improve InstructionWalk to Success! Are you looking for an innovative way to capture how multilingual students are engaging in Tier 1 instruction? Whether you are a classroom teacher, EL specialist, or administrator, you will walk away with a language walk tool that supports your students’ language acquisition, helps you assess current instructional practices, and provides a resource to think critically about the next level of student support. Presenters: Laura Murphy and Carolann Cavallo
- 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.Meet WIDA Alternate ScreenerWIDA Alternate Screener is a brand-new paper-based English language proficiency assessment given to new students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in grades K–12. It helps educators identify if students are English learners. You’ll leave the session knowing the key features of WIDA Alternate Screener, how to determine which students should take the assessment, and where to find relevant test administration resources. Presenter: Katie Stenz and Andree Miller
- 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.Connecting, Sharing, and Advocating! Collaboration to Support Newcomers Through SELJoin this interactive session to discover practical strategies for supporting newcomer students’ English development, sense of belonging, and academic success. Explore how to create welcoming spaces, leverage cultural knowledge, and apply WIDA 2020 standards to meet language demands. Walk away with engaging tools to activate all language domains and help your students thrive! Presenters: Ania Figueroa and Eleonor Nayvelt
- 10:30 - 11:45 a.m.Doorways to Multilingual Family Engagement: Language Accessibility AuditsExplore how language accessibility audits can transform K–12 schools. This session will address identifying and overcoming language barriers to increase family engagement and ensure equitable learning opportunities. Participants will learn to conduct language accessibility audits, develop inclusive strategies, and gain practical tools and insights to apply in school. Presenters: Leah Davis and Letitia Vigil
- 11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.Lunch
Monday, October 27
- 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.Game On!Imagine that teaching class was as fun as your favorite game night. Come get your game on and discover how to promote language development through language play and games. Each participant will be a winner and walk away with ideas on how to use everyday games as engaging strategies and as hands-on learning activities in classroom reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction. Presenter: Krista Mecham and Chelsey James
- 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.WIDA Language Charts: Connecting ACCESS Scores to Classroom Writing AssessmentJoin us for an introduction to the WIDA grade-level cluster Expressive Language Charts, focusing on assessing end-of-unit Writing samples. We’ll explore the Charts’ alignment with the WIDA ELD Standards, 2020 Edition, connection to ACCESS scores, and utility for planning instruction. We’ll also discuss collaborating with colleagues, and building student success within Level 1 descriptors, and we’ll explore options for digital integration. Presenters: Lynn Shafer Willner and Margo Gottlieb
- 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.Revising K–12 WIDA ACCESS: Everything You Need to KnowDo you want to learn about the impact of the WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition: Grades K–12 on the WIDA ACCESS K–12 test? During this session, we will explain upcoming changes to WIDA ACCESS, share resources we are developing and updating, and discuss the importance of research with educators and students. This session will help educators deepen their standards-to-assessment literacy in anticipation of the revised WIDA ACCESS K–12 test. Presenters: Jason Kemp and Fabiana Macmillan
- 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.What About Literacy? Unpacking the WIDA Language Development StandardsHow can you effectively support the literacy development of English language learners while aligning to the Marco DALE? This session will guide educators through the process of unpacking the Spanish and English Language Development standards for language and literacy instruction. You'll walk away with strategies across grade levels and content areas that integrate language proficiency goals with literacy instruction. Presented in: Spanish and English. Presenter: Jessica Canul Diaz
- 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.Accessibility and Innovation in the Multilingual Learner ClassroomExplore innovative strategies and practices to support accessibility and inclusion for multilingual learners, including those with disabilities. This session highlights integrating accessibility tools, UDL principles, and collaboration to foster equity and success. Engage in activities, reflections, and resource sharing to create inclusive, linguistically responsive classrooms. Be prepared to ask your questions and share your strategies! Presenters: Laurene Christensen, and Vitaliy Shyyan
- 1:45 - 2:30 p.m.Break
Monday, October 27
- 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.A Peek Behind the Curtain at the New Kindergarten ACCESSCurious about the new WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten (K ACCESS) test? Join this session to preview what’s changed and learn tips on administering the redesigned assessment. We’ll use the new rubrics to practice scoring actual student speaking and writing responses. You’ll leave with a better understanding of the updated Kindergarten ACCESS and how to prepare for administering the test. Presenters: Marcy Olson and Regina DiBella
- 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.Beyond the Summative Assessment: Selecting an Effective Interim ELP AssessmentGet ready to learn about the role of interim assessments for multilingual learners. Through a small group activity, you’ll discuss how your district monitors students’ English language development throughout the year. You’ll also gain a better understanding of what makes an interim assessment helpful for you and your students. Finally, you’ll leave this session knowing how to select an effective interim ELP assessment and how WIDA MODEL works alongside WIDA ACCESS. Presenter: Mark Chapman
- 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.Teaching Smarter, Not Harder: Streamlining Language Instruction for Busy EducatorsDo you spend hours creating lessons and still feel frustrated? Language teachers often spend excessive time planning lessons, searching for materials, and adapting curriculum. This session equips teachers to streamline instruction using an innovative academic language instructional tool based on WIDA’s Key Language Uses (KLUs). Participants will leave with actionable materials to make language teaching more enjoyable and effective. Presenters: Kristina Robertson, and Angela Froemming
- 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.Supporting Secondary Teachers in Assisting Newcomer StudentsDiscover innovative strategies to support newcomer students in secondary schools! This session focuses on SEL, cultural integration, program design, and combating newcomer fatigue. Gain tools to foster a welcoming environment and actionable ideas for immediate classroom implementation. Presenter: Ashley Campos
- 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.Content as Equity: AI and Tech Justice for ALLEmpower multilingual learners to not only understand AI but also critically interrogate technologies, evaluate impacts, find more ethical and equitable solutions, and raise their voices for its responsible use in future decision-making spaces. Learn AI literacy to teach AI literacy. Participate in a lesson series developed with WIDA standards and supports designed to be used to teach content and language critical for representation and advancement. Presenter: Holly Sawyer
Don’t miss out on a single moment!
Virtual attendees will receive access to recordings of all virtual sessions, as well as a recording of the in-person keynote presentation.
Justify Your Attendance
The WIDA Annual Conference is designed to meet the needs of today's educators to help you meet the needs of your multilingual learners. You'll experience interactive learning with innovative ideas to take home.
Does your boss need more convincing? Use our customizable letter to further justify your attendance.
Recording-Only Access
Interested in catching the virtual track on your own schedule? A recording-only option is available so you can participate in your own place, at your own pace. Recording-only participants will receive access to recorded virtual sessions and both the virtual and in-person keynote speakers on November 17, 2025. The recordings will be available through January 31, 2026.